(1) Field of the Invention
It is a common problem that toilets, particularly toilet seats, are often found in an unsanitary and unhygienic condition. Conventional toilet seats rest in either a horizontal, seated position, or a vertical, raised position depending on how the toilet seat was left by the previous user. Users who find toilet seat in the seated position are frequently unwilling to touch the toilet with their hands in order raise it to a vertical position prior to use. When the toiled seat is left in the seated position, users who are standing or squatting while using the toilet often cause urine or toilet water to deposit on the toilet seat, causing unsanitary and unhygienic conditions. Alternatively, people use their feet to raise or lower the seat to avoid touching the toilet seat with their hands, which often damages or breaks the seat hinge mechanism. These problems are particularly common in public toilets and toilets used by men.
The present invention alleviates these problems by maintaining the toilet seat in the vertical, raised position until the user intentionally chooses to move the toilet in the seated, horizontal, position by pulling a handle. When a user desire to lower the seat from the standard vertical resting position to the horizontal, seated position, he makes an effortless, short pulling motion on the handle which lowers the toilet seat to the horizontal position. This handle is part of a new mounting mechanism that attaches the toilet seat to the toilet pedestal. The handle is located at a distance from the seat so that the handle does not become soiled by splatter or other unsanitary causes from prior users and the user is not required to touch the toilet seat.
After the seat is lowered to the horizontal position using the lever, the seat remains in the horizontal, seated position providing an appropriate interval of time for the user to sit on the seat without having to touch or hold the seat down with their hands, at which point the user's weight maintains the seat in the horizontal position. When the user removes his weight from the seat, the hinge mechanism uses a spring force to slowly raise the seat back to the original vertical resting position, providing a safe and adequate interval for the user to exit the seat before it moves to the vertical position. The lifting mechanism includes a damper which slows the speed in which the seat is moved from the horizontal to the vertical position to prevent damage or injury.
The invention can be used to retrofit on an existing toilet pedestal by replacing the standard toilet seat, or can be included on a new toilet pedestal when the pedestal is installed.
Thus, the invention provides an economical, hygienic and sanitary way of bringing the toilet seat to rest in a hygienic, vertical position while also allowing the user to move a toilet seat to a seated position in a hygienic manner without touching the toilet seat itself.
(2) Description of Related Art
There have been several attempts to provide a mechanism that keeps the seat in an upright or vertical position during use by a male user. Several references disclose toilet seat with devices for either facilitating lifting a seat or holding the seat in an up-right position while the toilet is in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,335 discloses a normally upright toilet stool-seat assembly, in which a one-piece toilet seat hinge composed of an elastomer material throughout, and including a flat flange member and a coplanar support shank. The flange member is designed to be connected to the toilet seat and the support shank is generally cylindrical in shape and externally threaded to facilitate mounting within a cavity normally found on the toilet stool for connection of the seat thereto. The flange member has lower peripheral portions with sufficient memory to cause the toilet seat to swing from a horizontal orientation, upon release, to a vertically extending orientation, thereby obviating the likelihood of the seat being soiled by a subsequent male urinator.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,180 discloses a toilet seat lifting device by utilizing a pair of compound leaf springs which are formed to hold a commode seat in the up position. The leaf springs have a primary curve for spring lifting power, a second curve to reduce friction between the seat and spring when the seat is lowered, and a third curve to act as a spring washer to hold the leaf spring in place between the seat and commode. By holding the seat in the up position unless a user wishes to lower it, the seat is less apt to be soiled when the commode is used for urination.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,532 discloses a commode seat raising mechanism including a commode seat; a biasing mechanism in connection between a top wall of a commode and the commode seat for biasing the commode seat in an upright position; and a dampening mechanism in connection between the commode seat and the biasing mechanism for adjusting the rate at which the commode seat is raised.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,465 discloses and attachment for a toilet which includes a bracket (A) for securing the attachment to a rim of a toilet bowl positioning a flat spring (B) constructed of resilient flexible material extending beyond the rim and over the open top beneath an overhanging portion of the seat for carrying an upwardly extending protuberance (C) for partially raising the seat due to the force of the flexible material which permits proper lowering of the seat when in use for avoiding wetting of the seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,890 discloses a spring toilet seat hinge comprising a spring having a leg for pushing a toilet seat from a lowered to a raised position, a helical torsion coil portion, and a linear bracing shank portion. The spring is mounted within the notch of a seat mounting portion, the notch having a round section for receiving the helical torsion coil, and a linear section extending tangentially from the round section, the linear section containing a bracing wall as backstop for the linear shank of the spring. The spring toilet seat hinge also comprises a hinge pin disposed coaxially within the torsion coil section of the spring and mounted to the seat mounting member, and a mounting bolt depending from the bottom of said seat mounting member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,242 discloses a spring hinge for raising a toilet seat, having an adjustable spring force. First and second hinge members with hinge knuckles that interfit closely end-to-end are attachable respectively to the toilet bowl and the seat. A rod extends through the knuckles and is slidably received in end caps on the hinge members at opposite ends. A first coupling member on the rod presents a series of teeth extending circumferentially around the rod and facing toward the end cap on the second hinge member. A second coupling member on the inside of the second hinge member's end cap has similar teeth which engage the teeth of the first coupling member. A coil spring encircles the rod inside the hinge knuckles and is fastened at one end to the end cap of the first hinge member and at the opposite end to the first coupling member to normally hold the first coupling member in toothed engagement with the second coupling member. The rod may be pushed to disengage the coupling members, after which the rod may be turned to adjust the force of the spring.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,092 discloses a hinged toilet seat that is spring-biased to either an upright or a horizontal position is slowed in its angular rotation to the spring-biased position. The user manually pushes the toilet seat to its use position and after use the toilet seat returns to its spring-biased position. This angular rotation is slowed by the present mechanism wherein the seat is attached to a hinge shaft which has a large gear engaging a small gear on an idler shaft. The rotation of the idler shaft is braked by a slipping clutch, which thereby slows the angular motion of the toilet seat to its spring-biased position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,077 discloses a quick detachable toilet seat hinge structure for a toilet construction including a bowl having a seat pivotally mounted thereon by means of a hinge structure which includes one or more socket engaging protuberances, or post receiving apertures or openings. The socket engaging protuberances are adapted to be projected into sockets formed either in a cylindrical sleeve forming another portion of the hinge structure, or one or more sockets formed in the rear portion of the bowl. The water closet structure further includes a tank which is mounted on the rear side of the bowl, and supported on the bowl by a spacing device which spaces the tank upwardly from the horizontal upper surface of the bowl. The water closet structure may further include a lid having at least two arms connected thereto and having either socket engaging protuberances on the arms which fit into hollow sockets which may be formed in another portion of the hinge structure or in the bowl, or having apertures therein which detachably engage posts carried on the bowl.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,877,469 discloses a toilet seat raising device which includes means for swinging a hinged toilet upwardly of a toilet bowl by utilizing a horizontal bar which is attachable to the bowl beneath the hinge of the seat. An upstanding integral arm on one end thereof provided with an aperture therein a stud bolt having a head and a reduced end extended through the aperture for rotary adjustment of the bolt and forming a shoulder on the bolt. A longitudinal slot in the bolt extending to the shoulder, a clock spring having a coil surrounding the bolt between the head and the shoulder and having a free end bearing upwardly against the seat. The coil has a terminal lip fixed in the slot for winding up the coil in response to rotary adjustment of the bolt for uncoiling of the coil to swing the free end of the spring upwardly. An apertured stop plate on the reduced end of the stud between the shoulder and the upstanding arm and having a lateral flange overlying the coil to limit uncoiling thereof, and a nut on the reduced end of the stud for clamping the stop plate between said shoulder and upstanding arm and thereby retaining the stud in rotatably adjusted position. The stop plate has a second lateral flange thereon engaging and overlying the arm to prevent the stop plate from being turned by the coil when the stud is adjusted.
None of this prior art provides a seat arrangement which includes a mechanism that is (i) cost-effectively manufactured; (ii) activated by a hygienic hand lever that is easily maneuvered and located remote from the seat; (iii) provides an adequate period in which the seat stays in the horizontal position for the user to sit on the seat without having to hold the seat down or touch it in any other way; (iv) has a dampened mechanism that slows the raising of the seat to allow the user an adequate time to safely exit the seat after use; and (v) automatically returns the seat to a hygienic vertical position using a safe, dampened mechanism after the user has finished.